Path to CFP program smoothed
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has made changes to its Certified Financial Planner (CFP) program, taking away the need to be degree qualified to enter and cutting the examination length in half, among other changes.
FPA chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch said the changes were made to ‘align’ the program with global standards and reflect student feedback.
The changes to be included in the CFP program for 2009 include what the FPA called “streamlined education entry requirements”, with candidates no longer required to have a degree to enter the program. Instead, candidates will be able to enter the program with an Advanced Diploma of Financial Services, with a requirement that they complete tertiary studies before being awarded CFP certification.
The FPA said the requirement to have completed tertiary studies before entering the program “made it difficult for those who are working, have young families, and cannot take time out to complete a degree prior to starting the CFP program”.
The length of the CFP exams will also be progressively shortened over the next two semesters, the FPA said, reducing the length of the exam from six to three hours. Exams will now also be ‘open book’, which the FPA said would better represent the access to information financial planners have in a client situation.
The formal oral presentation has also been changed in favour of workplace observation of a client interaction. This removes the previous and somewhat onerous need for candidates to film their own plan preparation.
Those in the accounting profession will also be provided with more streamlined entry, as will other professionals who are non-finance degree graduates. This will be facilitated through a bridging program that offers RG 146 compliance as well as entry to the CFP program. The details of this program are still being finalised.
The FPA said 12 Australian universities now offer degrees that provide direct entry into the CFP program, and that candidates who complete the CFP certification program will be eligible to receive exemptions from a range of university programs.
A new online portal will give students access to subject experts who will answer questions and provide assistance to students, as well as an online student chat room. In addition, students will be able to submit assignments online. Candidates will also receive assistance with case study assignments, with practitioners to lead workshops in Melbourne and Sydney that will also be available online.
A mentor program has also been developed, which will see students linked with experienced CFP practitioners, who will provide professional guidance, the FPA said.
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